Franchise Opportunities

Looking for a Fresh New Start?Discover the Forest of Flowers® Difference!

Forest of Flowers® now offers fresh new opportunities to operate your own floral franchise in communities throughout Southwestern Ontario

Over the past 20 years Forest of Flowers® has become the leading floral retailer in Southwestern Ontario.

As a Forest of Flowers® franchisee, the emotional satisfaction from selling the world's ultimate "feel good" product is highlighted by the reassurance that you are able to provide truly outstanding value to your customers... friendly, helpful service offering the freshest, highest quality flowers at supermarket prices - field fresh for less®!

Our experienced Franchise Care Team is committed to helping you realize a high return on your franchise investment with our proven business model. Our comprehensive Franchise Support Program will assist you with site selection, store design, product design, and training and operations standards.

Is Forest of Flowers® Right for you?

You do not require prior experience in the floral industry - you can take advantage of ours.

Are you willing and committed to follow a proven formula? If you can deliver outstanding customer care and have the management skills and the desire to be in command of your success, the Forest of Flowers® family could be the right opportunity for you.

After reviewing the information, we invite you to print the attached Franchise Questionnaire, complete in full and mail to the attention of Melanie Howe at: Franchise Department Forest of Flowers 841 Wellington Rd, Unit B2 London ON N6E 3R5 (Faxed copies will not be accepted)

Once we have received your questionnaire, we will be in touch with you to discuss our franchise opportunities!

Who We Are

Forest of Flowers® was founded in London, Ontario in 1996 by Wayne and Judy Watson. Wayne brought to the business a successful career in retail management, including executive positions in charge of operations and franchising with two national retailers. After operating a florist shop in Western Canada, Wayne and Judy believed they could create an improved value for the retail floral customer.

By eliminating local wholesalers and buying most of their fresh cut products directly at source from South and Central America, California and the Niagara region, Forest of Flowers® offered a unique and compelling value positioning to their customers – field fresh, high quality flowers at better prices than competing florists. Large, fully stocked walk-in coolers displayed a broad assortment of flowers while preserving their freshness and quality. Almost from the beginning, the new Forest of Flowers® retail format exceeded their expectations.

Today Forest of Flowers® has grown to become the leading floral retailer in Southwestern Ontario with 15 convenient locations and a 23% share of market in the London Region. Market share and sales growth have continued through the past year, with sales 12% above the previous year in the most recent quarter.

After 20 years of nourishing the Forest of Flowers® brand, in 2010 Wayne and Judy created Forest of Flowers Franchise Corp. to replicate their successful business model on a larger scale. The senior franchise management team is now poised to take the franchise system and the Forest of Flowers® brand to new heights.

Mission and Values

The Forest of Flowers Vision is to become Canada’s leading floral retail franchise system, with more than 25 franchisees awarded across Ontario over the next five years, setting the stage for longer term expansion into other provinces.

Our Mission is to provide the strongest franchise business model and support programs to enable our franchisees to achieve their financial and career aspirations, with the emotional satisfaction of making a difference in their customers’ lives through the uplifting power of flowers. We believe that we will only succeed if our franchisees are successful on a sustained basis.

Wayne and Judy have a set of Core Values and beliefs that impact the way that Forest of Flowers® operates. They care about people: franchisees, staff and family, and customers. They believe everyone deserves to be treated the same, with warmth, dignity, respect and a genuine concern for their well-being. The following values are key to the operation of Forest of Flowers®:

Excellence

We strive for excellence in all areas and align ourselves with people and companies with the same mind set.

Dedication

We are dedicated to satisfying and exceeding the needs and expectations of our customers, employees and franchisees.

Character

We hold ourselves to the highest standard in areas of integrity, honesty, commitment and accountability.

Teamwork

We create a positive, team-focused environment, allowing us to impact positively on team members and the communities we serve.

Responsibility

We believe we have a responsibility to benefit the common good of our local communities, our country, and our world.

Education

We believe in educating ourselves, our employees and our franchisees, allowing us all to be more knowledgeable and professional in satisfying our customers.

What Do We Offer?

The Advantage of Franchising

We know you want a business that is a step above the ordinary. That’s what our franchise offers – the benefits of replicating our successful business model and years of learning to create a special business you can be proud of. Our Franchise Support Program will get to you operating quickly and easily, for a fresh new start, just the way you want it.

Flowers are the World’s Ultimate “Feel Good” Product.

The floral business is one of the most positive retail businesses. Everyone loves to get flowers. Whether it’s for special celebrations, romantic occasions, anniversaries, or sympathy tributes, people are always touched when they receive flowers. As a Forest of Flowers® franchisee, you can experience this uplifting power of flowers to make a positive impact on others, while building a solid future for you and your family.

The Forest of Flowers® Competitive Retail Advantage

Forest of Flowers® has established a proven business model over the past 20 years.

Our Superior Value Positioning has enabled Forest of Flowers® to continue to win market share from both traditional florists and supermarkets. This superior value focus has struck an emotional cord with today’s value conscious consumer.

Our experienced management team brings a proven background in retailing, franchising, and marketing – especially in the floral market. Executive-level experience provides the vision & leadership to lead in the franchise industry.

The financial investment required to become a Forest of Flowers® franchisee is very modest compared to other retail storefront franchise systems.

Our Comprehensive Support Programs

You do not require prior floral business to succeed as a Forest of Flowers® franchisee. We’ve invested years of time and resources perfecting our business model so you don’t have to. Our franchising system allows you to replicate our floral success model.

Our Start-up Support Program

Planning & Financial

Assistance with business plan & financing applications

Creating Your Store

Site selection and lease negotiation assistance Store design and development assistance

Steps to Joining Our Family

Attend an Information Meeting at our Corporate Location This is a great opportunity for you to meet our management team and to learn more about the advantages of the Forest of Flowers® franchising opportunity.

Submit the Completed Franchise Questionnaire Let us know more about you. As we progress, you will continue to learn more about us. Your financial information is completely confidential.

Visit Our Forest of Flowers® Main Store and Franchise Office Here you will get to see what the florist industry is all about and how Forest of Flowers® is leading the industry in so many ways. See for yourself why working with flowers is such a positive experience. Discover how our spacious walk-in cooler preserves product freshness and enhances the shopping experience.

Disclosure Documents and Due Diligence Now you will receive a copy of the Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement. You will have two weeks to review these documents and to conduct your due diligence.

Franchise Application and Deposit At this stage you will be required to execute our Deposit and Confidentiality Agreement and to submit with a $5,000 deposit.

Store Site Selection Process In this phase we will discuss the site selection process, available franchise stores and new site locations. We will try to match your preferences to available locations.

Review of Forest of Flowers® Systems At this stage, you will be introduced to the Forest of Flowers® merchandising, operations, and administration systems.

Franchise Agreement You will have up to 30 calendar days from the Approval Date in which to enter into a Franchise Agreement with the company.

Meeting With our Executive Team You will be invited to meet with our executive team, to ask them any questions you may have. This is a great opportunity to get to know each other a little better as you join the Forest of Flowers® family.

All sales, transactions, and average sale data is from the FOF POS system, and as entered by the Franchisee and their staff.

All work hours, gross margin %, are reported to the Franchisor by the Franchisee as required by the Franchise Agreement.

All sales % growth data is from the last FOF corporate years ending September 30 of 2014, 2015, and 2016.

Additional operating expenses such as delivery, utilities, credit card discounts, professional fees, insurance, store and office supplies, benefits, will vary by store and owner. This is not a complete list. Check with your accountant for other possible expenses.

Starting Your Business

After your application has been approved and you have executed the Franchise Agreement, there are several stages leading up to your Fresh New Start.

Business Plan and Financing Your Business Plan is important not only for your own assurance of success but also for you to obtain financing with your financial institution. We are available to assist you through this process.

Site Selection Forest of Flowers® will help with the site selection to find the best available retail location for your business. We will analyze each market to ensure that the location and territory is right for you. We will also assist you in negotiating a lease that will meet your requirements in the most cost effective ways.

Turnkey Build-Out and Fixturing We offer a total Turnkey operation, taking care of all the building concerns that putting a new franchise store together entails. Your store will be professionally built and fixtured by experienced highly qualified contractors. When you open the door on your first day, you are ready for business with a visually impacting, well displayed, fully stocked Forest of Flowers® store.

Inventory We will assist you in the determination and placement of orders for your opening inventory. This will include orders for flowers, plants, vases, greeting cards, balloons, packaging materials, store supplies, etc from our proprietary vendor network. We will also assist you in setting up your Grand Opening advertising and media plan.

Training You will receive training from our friendly, knowledgeable team. Your hands-on training will include time at one of our store locations, covering sales, systems, floral presentation, perishable inventory buying, seasonal buying, merchandising planning, employee statistics analytical tools, marketing, management, and operations. When your store is ready to open, our training staff will be on-site to assist and to continue any training for an additional week.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Our SOP manuals provided to you will cover nearly all of the day-to-day situations that will arise in running your business. The areas covered will include sales, marketing, hiring, training, employee recruitment and management, best practices, operations, software, and accounting. Updates will be provided periodically.

Grand Opening It is now the day you have been dreaming about for weeks. Your store looks amazing. It is stocked with the very best floral presentation at the most competitive prices. You and your staff are well trained and motivated…it is time to open the doors and make a difference in your customers’ lives!

QUESTION: What skills and traits are desirable to maximize the likelihood of success?

Answer: One of the most important skills is the ability to deliver outstanding customer care. We also look for the confidence and desire to run your own business, management and financial acumen, and a general affinity for flowers. Retail experience, while an asset, is not mandatory.